The latest “he said, she said” in Shekhter dispute involves assault

In yet another court order, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge gave developer Neil Shekhter the boot at eight of nine recently sold Westside properties, despite an appellate court order that suspended the ownership transfer of the disputed portfolio.

The most recent court order follows allegations that Shekhter physically assaulted the new owners of the multifamily portfolio, SPI Holdings. Shekhter’s former joint venture partner, AEW Capital Management, sold the portfolio to SPI for $430.5 million last month. 

Shekhter and his employees at NMS Properties tried to prevent the new managers from accessing the property, a complaint from SPI Holdings reads, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal.

He “physically assaulted one of [SPI-appointed] representatives by grabbing him by the neck and shoving him out the door of the managerial spaces at one of the properties,” the complaint alleges.

Shekhter’s version of the events is quite different. He alleges SPI and AEW violated the law when they “commandeer[ed] control” of the disputed properties using a “small army of professional hackers, locksmiths, and private security guards,” in his own complaint, filed before SPI’s claims,

The latest order demands both sides to decide on a neutral, third-party manager to oversee the properties until the ownership dispute is resolved. If they don’t decide by Jan. 3, Judge Gerald Rosenberg will make the appointment. [LABJ] — Cathaleen Chen